Asked by The Atlantic contributor David Samuels recently to pick a fave — Kanye or Jay-Z — the President responded "Jay-Z" with little hesitation. He went on to admit he liked Kanye as well, calling him "smart" and "very talented."

When reminded by Samuels that he once labeled Kanye a "jackass" over the infamous Taylor Swift incident at the 2009 MTV VMAs, the President doubled down on the salty qualifier.